Controlling cable construction for hoisting machines and the like



Feb. 4 1941. R. HASTiNGS JR CONTROLLING CABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR HOISTIZEG MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed July 12, 1940 \nvenTor. RusseH Hcsfings Ur.

' Aflys.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE CONTROLLING CABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR 'HOISTING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Russell Hastings, Jr., Wellesley Hills, Mass, as-

signor to Lewis-Shepard Company, Watertown, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 12, 1940, Serial No. 345,054

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in remotely operated means having a controller for starting, stopping and reversing the power operated mechanism in which an endless cable con- 5 struction, which is connected to the controller, ex-

tends in convenient reach of an operator, and an object of the invention is to provide resilient means connecting one or both ends of the cable 'to the controller acting to maintain the cable taut at all times and thereby to insure accurate control of the power operated mechanism by the operator when otherwise out of reach of the controller.

A further object of the invention is to provide an endless cable controlling mechanism of the character described with adjustable means mounted upon the cable and adapted to be engaged by the load supporting means automatically '.to arrest the load supporting means at any desired upper and lower limits of its movement, with means for maintaining the cable taut at all times, and so constructed as to avoid the necessity of employing cable-tightening means, such as turnbuckles, or other exposed constructions.

A further object of the invention is to provide .a remote control cable construction for hoisting machines and the like in which the ends of the cable are connected to a controller in such manner that the end sections of the cable are maintained in substantial axial alinement and in which resilient means are provided for maintaining the cable taut at all times.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hoisting machine, preferably of the portable type, having uprights formed in lower and upper sections hinged together with remotely controlled cable construction in which the cable is maintained taut at all times by resilient means capable of permitting sufiicient lengthening of the cable to enable the upper section to be tolded downwardly to permit the hoisting machine to pass through doorways or beneath other overhead constructions which otherwise would prevent the movement of the hoisting machine to and from the locations in which it is to be used.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fully'appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing as applied to a hoisting machine having a vertically movable load supporting means operated by an electric motor with (Cl. 18'l'11) manually operable switch mechanism for controlling. the motor having a drum with a cable connected to said drum extending alongside the load supporting means, with one end of the cable fixedly secured to the drum and the other end connected to resilient mechanism carried by the drum acting to maintain the cable taut at all times.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of hoisting machine embodying the invention, the motor and winch for raising and lowering the load supporting means being enclosed in 'a casing;

,Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the controlling mechanism illustrated partially in vertical section and showing the manner in which one end of the control cable passes over and is connected to a drum and the other end of the cable passes over the drum in the opposite direction and is connected to an abutment slidably mounted in the handle member of the controller and engaging the upper end of a spiral compression spring;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail horizontal sectional view partially broken away showing the controlling mechanism with manually operable means located on opposite sides of the uprights and illustrating the position of the cable-tensioning means;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of mechanism for holding the switch mechanism in positions for starting, stopping and reversing the direction of rotation of the electrically operated motor of v hoisting ,mechanism; and,

Fi 5 is a detail view of the motor driven hoisting mechanism.

The particular embodiment of the invention comprises a hoisting machine having a base I :provided with a pair of rear wheels 2 and having Y extending forwardly from its front end wheeled steering mechanism 3 provided with a tongue 4 for steering the hoisting machine. A frame,

which is mounted upon the base I, comprises uprights 5, preferably in the form of channel chine to pass through doorways or beneath overhead obstructions. The upper sections of the uprights normally are maintained in vertical alinement with the lower sections by rods or struts II which are hingedly connected to the upper portion of the uprights and at their lower ends are provided with detachable connections I2 to the upper ends of the uprights 6, so that by detaching the connections l2 the upper sections of the uprights can be swung downwardly.

A transverse girder |3 mounted upon the upper sections 9 of the uprights has mounted upon it a sheave |4 over which a cable l5 passes, one end of the cable I5 being connected to a suitable winch drum |6 (see Fig. 5) which is driven through suitable gearing from an electric reversing motor I! mounted on the base of the machine. The other end of the cable I5 is suitably connected to a vertically movableload supporting means l8.

The construction above described is of a usual commercial type and forms no part of the present invention which relates to the mechanism for controlling the raising and lowering of the load supporting means.

The controller mechanism for the motor comprises a switch mechanism IQ of a usual type having a series of rotatable contact members mounted upon a shaft 20 which is journaled in a casing 2| secured to the uprights 5, with means for holding the switch members in respective positions to cause the raising of the load supporting means, the stopping of the same, and the reversing of the motor to lower the load supporting means.

The mechanism for thus controlling the position of the switches, which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 4, comprises a plate 22 which is mounted upon the shaft 29 and provided with recesses 23, 24, and 25, adapted to be engaged by a roller 26 carried by an arm 21 mounted at one end upon a shaft 28 and connected at its other end to a spring 29 which is suitably anchored in the casing 30 of the controller mechanism.

As illustrated the roller 26 engages the recess 24 in the plate 22 in the position in which the switch breaks the circuit to the electric motor. When the shaft 20 is rotated, by swinging its handle downwardly, the roller 26 will engage the recess 23 in the plate 22 and complete a circuit through the motor which will cause the raising of the load supporting means. Conversely, when the shaft 20 is rotated in the opposite direction to cause the recess 25 to be engaged by the roller 26 the switch mechanism will be operated to reverse the motor and thereby cause the lowering of the load supporting means.

One of the features of the present invention comprises means which may be actuated by an operator standing upon either side of the machine to control the raising and lowering of the load supporting means. In the construction illustrated the shaft 20 is provided with a handle member 3| located at the right hand side of the machine, as viewed from in front of it, and with another handle member 32 which is connected to the opposite or left end of the shaft as viewed from the front of Fig. 1, the handle member 32 of the controller mechanism comprising means for maintaining a remotely operable endless cable construction taut at all times to insure such operation of the switch mechanism which will enable the movement of the load supporting means to be arrested accurately at any desired position. The manually operable handle mecha nism 32 at the left side of the machine as illustrated comprises a closed drum construction having an end wall 33 which is fixedly secured to the end of the shaft 20 by welding or otherwise. The drum is in the form of a flange 34 integral with the end wall 33 having a portion substantially concentric with the axis of the shaft 20 and inwardly curved end portions 35 and 36 forming guiding continuations for the respective ends of the cable. The drum is provided with a detachable cover, not shown.

The cable for remote control of the hoisting mechanism to enable an operator standing on the load supporting means to actuate the controlling mechanism at any desired point comprises an endless cable passing over guides 31 and 38 mounted respectively upon the upper section of the uprights and upon the base with one of the leads 39 of the cable extending alongside the path of the load supporting means while the other lead of the cable has end portions 40 and 4| connected together by the drum mechanism which is mounted upon the controller shaft 20.

As illustrated particularly in Fig. 2 the end portion 40 extends upwardly from the sheave 38 over the drum 34 and is fixedly connected to a stud 42 extending outwardly from the wall 33 of the drum. The other end section 4| of the cable extends downwardly over the drum 34 and upwardly through the tubular handle member 32 and has adjustably secured to its end an abutment 43 which engages the upper end of a spiral compression spring 44 the lower end of which engages an abutment 45 which is fixedly secured in the lower end of the tubular handle member 32. The handle member 32 is externally screw threaded at its upper end and is engaged by a complementary cap 46 having a reduced extension 4'! which fixedly engages a socket in a ball 48 which can be conveniently grasped by the operator for manually operating the controlling mechanism.

In assembling the construction the end 4| of the cable is fixedly secured to the stud 42 and the other end 4| of the cable passed around the drum 34 and through the spring 44 and the tubular handle member 32, the cap having been removed. The abutment 43 is then secured to the cable in such manner as to impose a slight tension upon the cable which will maintain it taut at all times. This can be accomplished when the upper section of the standard is swung downwardly. When the sections are again swung upyvardly the proper tension will be maintained upon the cable and the cap may then be screwed on to the upper end of the handle 32.

By reason of this construction the controlling mechanism may be manually operated by the handle 32, or alternatively by the handle 3|, or by pulling the cable in the proper direction when the operator is standing on the floor or standing on the platform. It is a particularly important feature of the present construction which maintains the cable taut at all times, enables the operator when standing upon the load supporting means accurately to arrest the load supporting means at any desired position.

Desirab-ly means are also provided for automatically arresting the load supporting means at desired upper and lower limits of its movement. This is accomplished by providing the lead 39 of the cable with adjustable abutment members 49 and 50 located respectively approximately at the desired upper and lower limits of movement of the load supporting means and providing the load supporting means with an extension preferably in the form of a plate through which the lead 39 of the cable passes which will engage the abutments 49 and 50 and upon slight further movement will actuate the controlling means to arrest the load supporting means precisely at the desired limits of movement thereof.

It will be understood that the particular embodiment of the invention shown and described herein is of an illustrative character and is not restrictive and that the invention is adapted to various other types of hoisting machines or to remote control power mechanisms of other types as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. Remotely operable means for governing a power operated mechanism having a controller for starting and stopping said power operated mechanism comprising an endless cable construction connected to said controller through resilient means acting to maintain the cable taut at all times.

2. Remotely operable means for governing an electrically operated mechanism having a switch in the circuit supplying power to said mechanism comprising an endless cable construction connected to said switch through resilient means acting to maintain said cable taut at all times.

3. Remotely operable means for governing an 5 electric motor operated hoisting machine having a switch in the electric circuit for supplying current to said motor and a rotatable shaft for actuating said switch comprising a casing, provided with a drum, secured to said shaft having a tu- 40 bular handle member extending therefrom, a spiral compression spring mounted in said handle member, a cable having one end extending partly around said drum and fixedly secured to said cas ing and the other end of said cable extending in 45 the opposite direction partly around said drum into said handle member through said spring, and an abutment member connected to the end of said cable slidably mounted in said handle member engaging the end of said spring.

4. Governing mechanism, for an electric motor-operated hoisting machine having a wheel supported base, a frame mounted thereon having uprights formed in normally alined lower and upper sections hinged together to permit the up- 55-per section to be swung downwardly, load supporting means slidably mounted on said uprights, electric motor actuated means for raising and lowering said load supporting means, a

switch in the electric circuit of said motor, and 60 a shaft rotatably mounted on said frame having means to engage and actuate said switch and provided with a manually operable handle member, comprising an endless cable adapted to be mounted on'suitable guides respectively on the 65 upper and lower sections of said uprights and having one end fixedly secured to said handle member, and means including a resilient member connecting the other end of said cable to said handle member operable to maintain the cable tautat all times but sufficiently yieldable to permit downward swinging movement of the upper section of said uprights while maintaining the cable in tight contact'with said upper and lower guides.

5. Governing mechanism, for an electric motor-operated portable hoisting machine having a wheel supported base, a frame mounted thereon having uprights formed in normally alined lower and upper sections hinged together to permit the upper section to be swung downwardly, load supporting means slidably mounted on said uprights, electric motor actuated means for raising and lowering said load supporting means, and a switch in the electric circuit of said motor, comprising a shaft rotatably mounted in and extending horizontally across said frame having means to engage and actuate said switch and provided with manually operable handle members located respectively adjacent opposite sides of said frame, and an endless cable construction mounted on suitable guides respectively on the upper and lower sections of said uprights and having one end fixedly secured to one of said handle members, and means including a resilient member connecting the other end of said cable to the same handle member operable to maintain the cable taut at all times but sufiiciently yieldable to permit downward swinging of the upper section of said uprights.

6. Remotely operable means for governing an electric motor-operated hoisting machine, having -a base, a frame mounted thereon having uprights, load supporting means slidably mounted on said uprights, an electric motor for raising and lowering said load supporting means, a switch in the motor circuit and a shaft mounted on said frame having means for actuating said switch comprising, an enclosed drum on said shaft having a handle, an endless cable construction mounted on suitable guides on said frame having one end passing partly around said drum and fixedly secured thereto, and the other end passing over said drum in a reverse direction to maintain the end portions of the cable in axial alinement, and means including a resilient member connecting the latter end of said cable to the drum acting to maintain the cable taut at all times.

'7. A device for yieldably connecting the ends of a continuous cable to a rotatable controller shaft of a power operated mechanism comprising a closed housing fixedly secured to the controller shaft and having therein a drum and provided with a tubular handle member extending from said drum, a coiled spring mounted in said tubular handle member, means: for guiding one end of the cable over a portion of said drum, means for securing said end to said housing, and means for guiding the other end of the cable in the opposite direction around said drum and longitudinally through said spring, and an adjustable abutment member slidably mounted in said handle connected to the end of the cable engaging the end of said spring.

RUSSELL HASTINGS, JR. 

